Featuring the iconic voices from Batman: The Animated Series of Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, Arkham Asylum already feels like an established universe with a rich history within the first half hour of gameplay. Suspicious of Joker, Batman accompanies him to the Asylum where he breaks free and takes control of the facility with the help of Harley Quinn. Over the course of one long night, Batman defeats villains such as Scarecrow, Bane, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Joker.
Arkham Asylum already feels like an established universe with a rich history
The game is the easiest in the franchise to 100% with an estimated 11 hours to complete the main story and 25 hours overall if you seek to collect every single Riddler trophy and solve every riddle. Somewhat a tedious task if you're committed to completing everything, the game helpfully provides Riddler maps to collect to point you in the right direction. The game offers stealth and combat challenge modes where you can even play as the Joker which is an absolute blast to play.
Aided by a collection of gadgets and a 'Detective Mode', players get to live out their childhood dreams of being Batman. Why climb or walk when you can use the grapnel gun or glide everywhere? The combat isn't too complicated but remains flawed when compared to later instalments (Arkham Knight combat is just next-level smooth). Fighting goons also doesn't feel monotonous because of the different types of goons you will encounter such as the larger Titan-fueled goons that you have to hit with Batarangs to stun then proceed to beat-down several times. The standout segments of the game for me has to be the Scarecrow levels. A test of stealth and good timing, these levels used to terrify me when ten year old me played the game for the first time.
Arkham Asylum, and the wider Arkham franchise, is one of the most iconic superhero video games that changed the whole genre. Though making a Batman game would of course be easier than a Superman game, Arkham revolutionised superhero video games and set a new standard that wouldn't be matched until Marvel's Spiderman in 2018.
Arkham Asylum can be played on current consoles with the remastered Return to Arkham which also includes Arkham City.